What's the story?
According to well-respected pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, Sasha Banks working the WWE Royal Rumble pre-show is “not a punishment”, rather just a simple issue of fitting matches onto a packed pay-per-view card.
In case you didn't know...
Sasha Banks has been a major part of the so-called “women's revolution” in WWE over the last few years. Her rivalries in NXT led to a Women's Championship reign and epic battles with the likes of Charlotte, Bayley, Paige, Becky Lynch and more.
Since making her debut on the main roster, Banks has become a three-time WWE Women's Champion, wrestling the first ever female Hell in a Cell match in 2016, and becoming the greatest rival of Charlotte Flair.
The heart of the matter
Since putting her feud with Charlotte on hold, Sasha Banks has entered into a program with the intimidating Nia Jax, following an assault on Monday Night Raw. The two are set to do battle at the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but since being moved to the show's pre-show there has been a lot of speculation and discussion surrounding her placement on the card.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, her role on the show is not a “punishment”, but a simple case of there being too many important matches on one show to feature a non-title bout prominently.
Sasha and Nia Jax aren't the only two stars to be relegated to the pre-show, however, as both Cesaro and Sheamus will defend the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson before the show kicks off.
What's next?
The big question is, with so many big name part-time stars expected to work this year's WrestleMania event, where will “The Boss” fit in on the biggest show of the year? It will be interesting to see how the ladies of Monday Night Raw evolve over the next two months, and what kind of Championship match unfolds as a result.
Sportskeeda's take
This really isn't the big deal some people are making it out to be. The Rumble match generally goes about an hour, and with two world title matches, a women's title match and the Cruiserweight stars getting a championship bout as well, she's lucky to have a spot at all without being in the title picture. We'll see how things go moving forward.
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